Her first executive kitchen
Back from San Francisco, DeeDee ran the kitchen at Nan Thai Fine Dining beside her mother, Chef Nan.
The Chef
A lifetime in the family dining room. Now she runs the kitchen in Buckhead.
DeeDee Niyomkul
Her story begins with three kitchens: her grandmother's street-food stall in Bangkok, her parents' dining rooms in Atlanta, and the one she now leads in Buckhead.
DeeDee is the daughter of Nan and the late Charlie Niyomkul, the restaurateurs who helped establish Thai fine dining in Atlanta. She spent much of her early childhood with her grandmother, Payow Sanguankiat, learning the recipes and instincts of a Bangkok street-food vendor.
In her early twenties, DeeDee traveled to San Francisco to study under French Master Chef Xavier Salomon. She returned with a more disciplined technical vocabulary and, in 2006, stepped into her first executive chef role beside Chef Nan at Nan Thai Fine Dining.
“I never thought I'd work in the restaurant business, but here I am, more than 20 years in the business.”Chef DeeDee NiyomkulExplore Her Menu
Before the Chef's Coat
Working through the front and back of house taught DeeDee that hospitality is not separate from cooking. The plate, the pacing, and the welcome all belong to the same evening.
A Family Legacy
The first chapter of DeeDee's career began at the table she already knew best.
At Nan Thai Fine Dining, mother and daughter shared one kitchen. The Thai cooking DeeDee learned at Nan's side still anchors the menu in Buckhead.
Her Restaurants
The first was her mother's fine dining room. The second grew from Bangkok street food. The third, on Peachtree Road, is her own.
Back from San Francisco, DeeDee ran the kitchen at Nan Thai Fine Dining beside her mother, Chef Nan.
Inspired by her grandmother Payow Sanguankiat, DeeDee built an award-winning restaurant around the street snacks, energy, and generosity of Bangkok.
Chai Yo gave classical Thai recipes a modern vocabulary. Its transformation into Nan Thai Buckhead brought DeeDee’s own career back under the family name.
Recognition & Appearances
The honors trace back to the same place: the family kitchens where DeeDee learned to cook Thai food.
Tuk Tuk was recognized among the top Thai restaurants in the United States.
Tuk Tuk was voted Atlanta’s Best Thai Restaurant.
A sold-out culinary evening at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
DeeDee competed on Food Network, bringing her Thai point of view to a national audience.
A Family Table
Hospitality learned from her father, preserved in a room of its own.
Charlie taught DeeDee to understand a restaurant through the guest's eyes. Dedicated to his memory, Charlie's Room brings that lesson to one table, set for six to ten guests.
Discover Charlie's RoomFrom Her Kitchen